Current Birdseye compared to 3 years ago -- any improvements?

I recently re-downloaded several areas (to install on a replacement GPS) and didn't really see any differences. The imagery seemed about the same as was the process of downloading compared to a couple of years ago. I'm not aware of a way to "preview" imagery or even compare the date.
John

You can downlaod imagery to basecamp to 'preview' it ... you don't even need a current Birdseye subscription.

Well that's true but I was assuming the OP had such a device as he's clearly used Birdseye before :)

Thanks for the replies. When Basecamp indicated that my Birdseye registration had expired, I assumed that it wouldn't let me download anything. I guess it's just the transferring to the device that won't work.

I downloaded an area that I had previously downloaded -- an area just outside Los Angeles that Google has updated several times in the last few years. Birdseye apparently has the same download size limitation, which really surprised me given how much everything has advanced in the last few years. I expected to be able to download a larger area, but Birdseye prevented me from making the square any bigger than the one I downloaded 3 years ago.

On top of this, the speed of the download is what I would have to call "ridiculously slow" -- pretty much the same as it was 3 years ago when BE had just started. Again, this really surprised me since I thought that they would have dramatically improved download bandwidth by now. The speed is just remarkably slow -- what takes Google Earth or Google Maps (on PC or smartphone) literally only a few seconds to download took Birdseye 20 minutes. I'd estimate that the BE download takes about 250 times longer than Google. I understand that Google is a much bigger company, but 250 times slower? That's just remarkable.

As far as the detail goes, the image is literally the exact same image from before. Even though Garmin states that the imagery for populated areas updates about once a year (this IS a populated area -- it's Los Angeles/Ventura county) this image has not been updated in 3 years.

Even if the speed was still ungodly slow, if either the detail or the download size limit had improved -- either one of these -- I'd buy a new subscription. Unfortunately, the imagery in this area is identical to my 3 year old imagery, the download size limit is the same, AND it's still ridiculously slow.

I was looking forward to a new subscription, but I guess I'll continue to wait and see what other offerings there might be.

Thanks again for the feedback,

Larry

I had to renew my subscription because, after my BE subscription expired, my GPSMAP 62s was replaced and the BE files I had could not be used on the refurbished device. BTW, save your BE files outside of Basecamp on your hard drive, etc. and move them back an forth via Windows. If you still have the same device and your subscription has expired, they will still work. Basecamp will check your subscription status and will not send the images to a device...if your subscription is expired,

I too have images from the LA/Ventura County area and as you noticed, the current images appear to be the same as several years ago. Noticed it in particular with a 2-3 year old building that was not there when the image was created.

I had to renew my subscription because, after my BE subscription expired, my GPSMAP 62s was replaced and the BE files I had could not be used on the refurbished device. BTW, save your BE files outside of Basecamp on your hard drive, etc. and move them back an forth via Windows. If you still have the same device and your subscription has expired, they will still work. Basecamp will check your subscription status and will not send the images to a device...if your subscription is expired,

I too have images from the LA/Ventura County area and as you noticed, the current images appear to be the same as several years ago. Noticed it in particular with a 2-3 year old building that was not there when the image was created.

How do you save the Birdseye files outside of Basecamp, and how do you get them back on a device if Basecamp won't transfer them? Can you still use them via basecamp by putting them on the device, then copying them from the device to basecamp?

Regarding the imagery updates, I still have my old imagery, so it's very easy for me to just look at some cars on a road and compare the two images. Everything -- including the cars -- is in the exact same spot on both the old and new BE image.

Thanks,

Larry

BirdsEye files as viewed in BaseCamp exist on your hard drive in folder C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\GARMIN\BaseCamp\JnxFiles and have a long seemingly random name consisting of letters and numbers. They are always available for use in BC regardless of subscription status...you just cant transfer them via BC if your subscription is expired.

When you transfer a BE image to your device, it is placed in the folder Garmin\Birdseye. Using Windows Explorer (aka My Computer) you can find the BE files on the device in that folder. They are named according to how you named them in BC and have the extension ".jnx". You can freely copy/move the files back and forth between computer and device. I started doing this (with routes and waypoints too) because I wanted a way to manage these files without having to have BaseCamp (using someone else's computer for instance). This appears to bypass the "subscription validation". The BE files are still associated with that particular device however.

When I first started using Basecamp, I had a high "frustration level" with the software and was more comfortable managing these things via copy/paste, etc. I also used a text editor (Notepad) to edit routes in a way that Basecamp would not allow (removing the -1 from a WP name, changing the symbol, etc).

John

Frensicpic
I have a copy of all my downloaded BE on a seperate HDD. I can copy the .jnx files to the device and they show as being on the device in BC.
but when I disconnect and start the device to use it. I get "invalid BE images" warning.

any help would be much appreciated..